IMPRESSIONS: I owe my possession of this cd to one person: my friend Peg. For those who don't know, I met Peg in 1992 at my job at Sizzler when she was about 60 years old. Born and raised in South Philly, she was Italian to the bone and she soon became not only a close friend but a second mother to me. Each Monday (my day off for years and years) I would drive over to her house where we'd watch movies, bullshit and cook and eat homemade Italian food from homemade pasta (yes, we would start with flour and egg and run them through the pasta machine) to stuffed artichokes to "past and peas". So of course when I saw this cd come out I had to buy it and bring it over. This is the perfect album to listen to while diving into a bowl of "rigatoons"; it specializes in easy listening Italian-American hits from the 1950s and early 1960s and which can be heard fairly regularly in any Godfather or Martin Scorsese movie. Peg knew all the words in Italian that began Domenico Modugno's #1 hit single "Volare" and she'd always sing along. She didn't like Connie Francis -- she called her "the cry baby" -- so we'd usually skip her. Lou Monte's "Pepino the Italian Mouse" has a special place in my heart because, at one time, Peg discovered that she had a mouse in the house. She found this out because the mouse had nibbled at her bowl of fried chili peppers. So, of course, I said it must be an Italian mouse and he was dubbed "Pepino". Then of course there's the classic "Eh Cumpari" which both Peg and I would sing along with at the top of our voices. Peg died in 2009 and I've yet to get over it. I can't hear this album without immediately being transported back to her kitchen on Florence Avenue when I'd put this cd on as Peg "put the water up" to cook the pasta for dinner.

IMPRESSIONS: This is another of those albums inseparable from my childhood. I was listening to it as long as I can remember and is one of those albums which immediately rocket me back to an age of single digits when I'd sit on the floor with my portable record player and drop the needle onto sublime silliness. Even the very lettering of "AESOP'S FABLES" on the album cover have become iconic to me and I occasionally utilize that font when I'm coming over all nostalgic. This, of course, was assuredly my first encounter with Aesop's Fables and you actually do get the real story interspersed with Smothers Brothers antics. One of my most beloved records from my kid-dom.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em.

FACT SHEET: AESOP'S FABLES is the Smothers Brothers' seventh album. All the songs were written by John McCarthy. Unlike many Smothers Brothers albums, AESOP'S FABLES was recorded in the studio without a live studio audience. In 2002, Universal Music and Laugh.com re-released the album finally on compact disc.

Friday, November 25, 2011

ULTIMATE COLLECTION - The Sons of the Pioneers

YEAR: 2002

LABEL: Hip-O Records

TRACK LISTING: Way Out There, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, There's A Roundup in the Sky, Empty Saddles, Blue Prairie, One More Ride, So Long To the Red River Valley, Cool Water, I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande), The Hills of Old Wyomin', Blue Bonnet Girl, Ride Ranger Ride, Echoes From the Hills, I Follow the Stream, My Saddle Pals and I, Song of the Bandit, I Wonder If She Waits For Me Tonight, Chant of the Wanderer, Riders in the Sky, The Lillies Grow High, The River of No Return

IMPRESSIONS: Every once in a while you need an album of cowboy songs.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Way Out There, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Empty Saddles, Blue Prairie, So Long to the Red River Valley, Cool Water, I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande), Echoes From the Hills, I Follow the Stream, Song of the Bandit, Chant of the Wanderer, Riders in the Sky, The River of No Return

FACT SHEET: In 1931, an Ohio truck driver and fruit picker named Leonard Slye entered a singing contest on an L.A. radio show called Midnight Frolics; he would later change his name to Roy Rogers. A few days later, he was invited to join a group called the Rocky Mountaineers. In September 1931, Canadian Bob Nolan answered a classified ad for a "Yodeler for old-time act, to travel. Tenor preferred" and joined the Rocky Mountaineers now led by Slye. Nolan only remained in the group a short time and was replaced by Safeway warehouse worker Tim Spencer; however Nolan remained in touch with Slye. In the spring of 1932, Slye and Spencer left the Rocky Mountaineers to form a trio which quickly failed. After passing through a series of short-lived groups, Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer formed the Pioneers Trio in 1933 with Nolan performing on string bass and Rogers on rhythm guitar. Shortly after they added fiddle player Hugh Farr who also added a bass voice to the vocals. During a radio broadcast an announcer made a remark which led to the group changing their name to the Sons of the Pioneers; the announcer said that the men were too young to have been pioneers but could be sons of pioneers. The name was well-received and stuck. Bob Nolan actually wrote many of the songs which have been considered traditional cowboy songs such as "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", "Way Out There" and "Cool Water".

Thursday, November 24, 2011

IMPRESSIONS: What a scary bunch of Swedes! Much has been made about this anonymous band's Satanic credentials; whereas other bands might merely play at Satanism, this "group of nameless ghouls" may actually walk the walk. I don't really care either way because the music on this album is such a catchy batch of 70's-sounding prog metal with more hooks than Col. Henry Blake's fishing cap. No less a personage than the Hetfield himself touts the band as his new favourite and wore a Ghost t-shirt at the "Big 4" concert in Sweden. Not really a "heavy" metal album, comparisons have been made to Mercyful Fate and a strong influence by Blue Oyster Cult (particularly evident on the chorus to "Ritual"). "Death Knell" sounds like Blue Oyster Cult and the Moody Blues had a satanic love child. "Satan Prayer" is a devil-hymn whose melody is so pop-masterful that it sounds like something you'd get if the Beach Boys had sold their souls to the Devil! Then there's the frequent use of the same "haunted house" organ which Vic Mizzy used to score "THE GHOST & MR. CHICKEN and an album cover which recalls the artwork for Tobe Hooper's TV mini-series "SALEM'S LOT". How could you not love this album?!? The "Hail Satan" angle somehow doesn't seem gimmicky but instead comes over as sorta sincere while at the same time there's nothing remotely scary or unsettling about this album because it's just so poppy, melodic and fun. It's more like a Halloween party than a black mass. I really don't know how an album can sound sincerely satanic and like it's taking the piss all at the same time? But I know I like it. Blogcritic Chris Beaumont said "There are moments where the music reminded me visually of The Blind Dead films. Odd, I know, but there it is." There, I think, is the crux; OPUS EPONYMOUS is completely Satanic in the way that Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY is - only for the entertainment value. I still don't know. Their matter-of-fact lyrics sound like they could very well be praising Satan while they paradoxically sound so darn wholesome in their vocal harmonies; maybe that's the tip-off that sneaky old Lucifer is definitely involved, eh? Wow, what a complex album for a straightforward dumb ole metal album.

BONUS TRACKS: Here Comes the Sun (only available on the Japanese version)

FACT SHEET: OPUS EPONYMOUS is Ghost's first album. Ghost is a band from Stockholm, Sweden whose members are not credited on the album and who wear masks and costumes when performing; this has led to widespread speculation that the members are really practicing Satanists who wish their identities to remain concealed. The lead singer (sometimes referred to as Papa Emeritus) wears a skull mask and a cardinal's robes while the rest of the band appears wearing hooded, monk-like robes. The rumour on the street is that there could be members of Watain and Repugnant involved. The song "Elizabeth" is about the fabled "Bloody Countess" Elizabeth Bathory.

IMPRESSIONS: A co-worker named Maureen got Cheeks and I into the Indigo Girls around 1991. This was the first "newly released" Indigo Girls album I ever bought and I remember being apprehensive that it would be a letdown after the superb songs found on their earlier albums. The Indigo Girls have never managed to release a "perfect" album; their previous cds feature absolute masterpieces alongside songs which I usually never listen to and RITES is no exception. It certainly stands up right alongside their debut INDIGO GIRLS and NOMADS INDIANS SAINTS and actually features a perfect first 6 tracks but then starts to wear thin with a needless Dire Straits cover and some forgettable songs suddenly appearing. Nonetheless, RITES is a great album with judicious application of the skip button.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

IMPRESSIONS: I really connected to this album immediately upon the first listen in a way which I never seemed to do with her last album of new material "AERIAL" in 2005. The sparseness of the instrumentation and the patience and confidence with which Kate unfolds each song (a couple of them top 10 minutes) give the album a definite winter feel (which, of course, is deliberate -- even down to the sounds of wind-blown snow between some of the tracks); however, I also found this to be one of Kate's warmest albums ever and one I found myself riveted to from the first note. Kate's sure piano playing is perfectly accompanied by the sympathetic drumming of Steve Gadd; I really can't say enough about the beautiful touch Gadd shows on the drums throughout the album. Cries of nepotism at the inclusion of Bertie on vocals for the opening track are frankly immediately silenced in my mind because the boy shockingly proves worthy of the spotlight here. I admit I wasn't convinced on this year's remake of "DEEPER UNDERSTANDING" but here Bertie's soaring "boys choir" vocal is actually impressive; he manages to sing with feeling as well and naturally demonstrates many of his mother's singing style which he comes by honestly. Kate's voice has now mellowed from her younger days; the high-pitched silver-throated songbird now sings at a lower register and she deliberately wanted to explore the sound of high male voices in contrast with her vocals. Bertie fulfills the boys choir male voice admirably and then the adult male tenor of Stefan Roberts soars throughout the ghostly "Lake Tahoe". Experiment successful, Kate. The potentially silly concept of a woman sleeping with a snowman in "MISTY" actually is imbued with a potent erotic charge and takes the listener by surprise with it's impact. Even the playful title track which features Stephen Fry intoning 50 different words for snow manages to go from trivial to a sort of winter mantra by the song's midpoint. After the highly-praised but, I found, remote "DIRECTOR'S CUT" album released earlier this year, I was slightly apprehensive about the release of "50 WORDS" but it certainly snuck up on me. I found it actually to be her most "involving" and "strong" album since . . . well, let me see . . . I suppose since HOUNDS OF LOVE itself. And you know my opinion of THAT album. 2011's "DIRECTOR'S CUT" was really just an academic exercise and the excellent but sprawling double album "AERIAL" (even though it was nominated for an album of the year Penguin Award) sort of staggered about for me. Before that, "THE RED SHOES" concept album (while still excellent) was a kinda Santana-style round robin album packed with guest stars 8 years before Santana's "SUPERNATURAL" album and 1989's "HOUNDS OF LOVE" follow-up "THE SENSUAL WORLD" (while also still excellent) had something of an unfocused and detached quality. So yeah, I guess as a complete album, "50 WORDS FOR SNOW" is Kate Bush's most successful project since 1985's classic "HOUNDS OF LOVE". And no one could be more surprised to hear me say that than me!

FACT SHEET: 50 WORDS FOR SNOW is Kate Bush's tenth album and the second released on her own "Fish People" label. It is a concept album of seven songs "set against a backdrop of falling snow". The earlier songs on the album feature songs which find Kate exploring the contrast of higher male voices alongside her now-lower vocals. The album showcases Bush's imaginative, off-kilter subject matters for songs which for which she's specialized her entire career. The album opener "Snowflake" features her son Bertie on what amounts to the lead vocal in the role of a snowflake falling to earth amid the noise of a world which hopefully will be muffled by a covering of snow. "Lake Tahoe" is the story of a Victorian ghost who is searching for her lost dog named "Snowflake". "Misty" is the tale of a woman who sleeps with a snowman; he later melts after a night of passion. "Wild Man" finds a small group of travelers encountering the Yeti in the Himalayas who cover up his footprints in the snow so no one will find him. "Snowed In At Wheeler Street" finds two lovers who are constantly reincarnated only to have their love thwarted time and again. Kate wrote the title track after musing on the old idea that Eskimos have 50 different words in their Inuit language for snow; the track features Stephen Fry reciting them including some invented by Kate herself which should come into the lexicon immediately: "anechoic", "blown from Polar fur" and "spangladasha" among them. The album concludes with a "Among Angels"; a love song to an undemonstrative lover.

IMPRESSIONS: Shame and tribulation on me for choosing this late compilation instead of a "real" album for the High Priestess of Soul but this is in fact the first Nina Simone album I ever got -- spurred on by that Bridget Fonda movie POINT OF NO RETURN which features Nina all over the soundtrack and as an actual important part in the film itself. This is a good, if by no means definitive, collection of songs; the version of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" found here is a very inferior live version (the real one can be found on the PETER'S FRIENDS soundtrack) and such huge Nina songs as "Feelin' Good" and "Sinnerman" are nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, this comp features some indispensible songs including her version of "Little Girl Blue" (which features Nina interpolating "Good King Wenceslas" on the piano in a kind of mash-up), "I Put A Spell On You", her huge initial hit "I Loves You Porgy", the otherworldly "Black is the Color..." and "Wild Is the Wind" (which David Bowie would cover). Also not to be missed are the live versions of "Mississippi Goddamn" (which is funny and full of rage at the same time) and "Pirate Jenny" (which is so electric that the live audience becomes so hushed you could hear a pin drop!). The compilation ends with the triumphant anthem "I Hold No Grudge"; another of my faves which should probably be deemed one of my theme songs after the line "I'm the kind of people you can step on for a little while but when I call it quits, baby, that's it!".

FACT SHEET: "I Put A Spell On You" is a 1965 cover of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins song. "My Baby Just Cares For Me" is a live performance from 1987. Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" would be covered by various artists including Tom Jones and Scott Walker. "Wild Is the Wind" would be covered by David Bowie. "Strange Fruit" is a 1965 cover version of the Billie Holiday song. Nina's own composition "Mississippi Goddamn" and the Kurt Weill-Bertoldt Brecht "Pirate Jenny" were both recorded live at a 1964 concert; "Mississippi Goddamn" is Nina's first original song of protest written in 1963 after the murders of Medger Evers and the "4 Little Girls" in Alabama. Nina recorded "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" in 1964 and it failed to become a hit; the Animals covered it a year later and had a huge hit with it -- a fact Simone resented deeply as she considered the song very personal to herself.

Friday, November 18, 2011

TRACK LISTING: Century Plant, You R Loved, Harry Went To Heaven, Crazy Mary, When We Sing Together, Polish Those Shoes, Love, What A Wonderful World, Waterfall, Nature's Way, Sunshine Country, Happy To Have Known Pappy, My Ally, Hitchhikers' Smile, Get Away, Psalms

IMPRESSIONS: This is my favourite of Vic's albums and it contains many of my favourite songs. These slices of small-town, rural life leave one immersed inside Vic's world with her incredibly descriptive songwriting through her use of everyday objects and situation to illustrate greater themes. Her voice has been described as "Minnie Mouse on helium" and may at first come across as a little coy but attentive listening will reveal there is an abundance of truth, clear-eyed observation and even some pain alongside a gracious humour and a stubborn optimism which is anything but artificial. "Polish Those Shoes" is a spectacular operetta set in a Southern country house and is an epic listen among picket fences. Vic's cover of "What A Wonderful World" is laced with bravery as it comes immediately after her diagnosis with MS; it manages to avoid the saccharine and comes almost as a sigh of relief. "Love" sounds like an old standard that's been around for decades (as indeed many of her songs do) and "Crazy Mary" has a spooky strain of reality running through it with the repeated line "what you fear the most could meet you halfway". After so many recent tribulations, it's a wonder she produced an album at all; let alone probably the best of her career. The album's review on itunes states it rather well: "Sometimes one has to wonder just where great records come from; when something comes out of the factory spotless, full of brightness, life and love, grit and suffering, all offered as a gift to the listener."

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Century Plant, You R Loved, Harry Went To Heaven, Crazy Mary, When We Sing Together, Polish Those Shoes, Love, What A Wonderful World, Nature's Way, Happy To Have Known Pappy, Get Away

FACT SHEET: LOOSE is Victoria Williams' third album and something of a comeback album after her two previous albums which seemed to perplex Geffen Records. "Crazy Mary" is actually something of a cover version of herself since the song first appeared performed by Pearl Jam (with Victoria singing backup) on the SWEET RELIEF benefit cd. "Nature's Way" is a cover of a Spirit song and "What A Wonderful World" of course is a cover of a Louis Armstrong song. "Happy To Have Known Pappy" was written for Victoria's father who has recently died. The cover photo features Victoria's dog Belle who has also died the same week as her father.

IMPRESSIONS: Spike Milligna, the well-known typing error, is simply one of my comedy gods. I first heard THE GOON SHOW in the late 1970s when our local PBS radio station WUHY-FM (now WHYY) aired them five days a week after dinner time. Then, around the same time, I heard Spike's "Q 5 Piano Tune" on "The Dr. Demento Show" and fell in love with that as well. Here was the guy who practically invented the form of British comedy my beloved MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS came to embody and I certainly identified with Spike's off-kilter world view (and later his manic depression as well). Here we have the "Q 5 Piano Tune" in all its glory as well as Spike reading from his many written works including "PUCKOON" and others. Spike's songs are usually funny novelty songs but occasionally they're borderline straight but with Spike's oddly diagonal take on the world making them just strange. Basically, these two CDs are a treasure trove which leaves one gasping for more Milligan.

FACT SHEET: A COLLECTION OF SPIKES is a 1992 EMI double-CD compilation of audio from Spike Milligan's career featuring readings from his written work, solo songs as well as songs involving the other Goons, excerpts from "THE GOON SHOW" and other comedy tracks spanning the years 1956 to 1990. Sir Spike Milligan, of course, wrote and starred in the groundbreaking radio show with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe and gave birth to the modern concept of British comedy, already! Spike wrote his own epitaph obituary as he "wrote the Goon Show and died".

TRACK LISTING: Yes, God Bless the Child, Say Liza (Liza With A 'Z'), It Was A Good Time, I Gotcha, Ring Them Bells, Son of a Preacher Man, Bye Bye Blackbird, You've Let Yourself Go, My Mammy, Medley of Tunes from "Cabaret": Willkommen/Married/Money, Money/Maybe This Time/Cabaret

IMPRESSIONS: I certainly wouldn't call myself a Liza Minnelli fan. I only own one album by her and I've never even seen the film CABARET. However, this is the album to own and this is the album I love. Once again, this goes to the legendary road trip to Atlantic City with my friend Paul talked about in the Neil Diamond "THE JAZZ SINGER" entry when we had to take his father's car and we only had one tape in the car with these two albums on it. Listening to both albums over and over both to and from A.C. would probably drive most people nuts but something about these two albums leant themselves to repetition. And I've been listening ever since. LIZA WITH A Z is so "of its time" with it's choice of early 70's "hip" instruments and musical arrangement that it becomes charming. And there's no doubt Liza was at the peak of her career providing a vocal performance designed to knock the audience's socks off (and we can't even see the constant choreography here). Liza attempted to bring old-fashioned show biz razzmatazz to early 70's grooviness and somehow she succeeded.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Yes, God Bless the Child, Say Liza (Liza With A 'Z'), It Was A Good Time, Ring Them Bells, Son of a Preacher Man, My Mammy, Medley of Tunes from "Cabaret"

FACT SHEET: LIZA WITH A 'Z': A CONCERT FOR TELEVISION was broadcast September 10, 1972 on NBC. The concert was, according to Minnelli, the first filmed concert on television; it was shot using eight 16mm cameras instead of the usual videotape. The film was produced by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse (who also directed and choreographed) with Ebb writing and arranging the music with his songwriting partner John Kander. All three had worked with Minnelli earlier that year on the film "CABARET". The show was filmed at the Lyceum Theatre in New York on May 31, 1972. Costumes were designed by Halston and the music coordinator was Marvin Hamlisch. Not shown on television since 1973, the original negative was thought lost until it was re-discovered in 1999; Minnelli discovered she owned the rites and restored the film for re-release in 2006 on DVD with a new stereo remix of the soundtrack included. LIZA WITH A 'Z' won four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Directors Guild of America award while the soundtrack album was certified gold and has never been out of print to this day.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

TRACK LISTING: Utopia Parkway, Red Dragon Tattoo, Denise, Hat and Feet, The Valley of Malls, Troubled Times, Go Hippie, A Fine Day For A Parade, Amity Gardens, Laser Show, Lost In Space, Prom Theme, It Must Be Summer, The Senator's Daughter

IMPRESSIONS: Simply one of my favourite albums of the 90s. The songwriting by Collingwood and Schlesinger features monster pop hooks and intelligent writing (even when they're writing deliberately dopey lyrics as in "Denise") which combines humour with a wistful melancholy. This quality can be seen to no better advantage than the superb "Prom Theme" which is funny and paradoxically often makes me cry; it combines adolescent silliness and obliviousness with a lethal nostalgic pain and remains both incredibly pessimistic and wide-eyed optimistic at the same time! The strings combined with a 70's wah-wah guitar are hilariously (and knowingly) cornball to evoke most prom themes but written and orchestrated so well that they're achingly beautiful simultaneously. The album was nominated for several Penguin Awards including Song of the Year for "Prom Theme" and won Album of the Year.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Utopia Parkway, Red Dragon Tattoo, Denise, Hat and Feet, The Valley of Malls, Troubled Times, Go Hippie, A Fine Day For A Parade, Prom Theme, It Must Be Summer, The Senator's Daughter

FACT SHEET: UTOPIA PARKWAY is Fountains of Wayne's second album. The group consists of Chris Collingwood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Adam Schlesinger (bass, backing vocals), Jody Porter (lead guitar) and Brian Young (drums). Initially called Pinnwheel, Are You My Mother? and Woolly Mammoth, the band took it's name from a lawn ornament store near Wayne, New Jersey near Montclair (Schlesinger's home town); the now-gone store can be seen in the Sopranos episode "Another Toothpick". The album is named after a street in Queens, New York and is a concept album of life in modern suburbia. UTOPIA PARKWAY was critically acclaimed and named People magazine's "Album of the Week" but the band was dropped from their label when sales didn't meet expectations; a dispute between the label and the band occurred when Atlantic refused to release "Troubled Times" as a single. The band went on a couple year hiatus before making another album containing the huge hit "Stacy's Mom".

IMPRESSIONS: The first Anita O'Day album I ever bought. Oddly, I can't remember why I suddenly bought an Anita O'Day out of the blue; I can only conjecture that it must've been after I saw her in the classic concert film JAZZ ON A SUMMER'S DAY. I probably bought it either at STRAWBERRIES or the new TOWER RECORDS which had opened up next to the Cherry Hill Mall; both stores now sadly but a memory. Either way, this album features very strong performances by Anita on some of my favourite songs by her. Anita is sharp and full of fire on this album which sometimes she wasn't (as on the sadly underwhelming ANITA O'DAY SWINGS COLE PORTER with Billy May on which she sounds strangely subdued). Here she's sassy and firey attacking the songs with her full strength. An apt itunes review describes side one as bold and brassy with side two finding Anita "like a low ripple across a lake".

FACT SHEET: SINGS THE WINNERS is Anita O'Day's 12th album (although it's a little hard to gauge these things from this era). The concept of the album by producer Norman Granz was to pick the "winners" from the top Jazz and Orchestral charts associated with top jazzmen. The original vinyl side one features arrangements by Marty Paich and side two was arranged by Russ Garcia. Bonus tracks were added to the 1991 cd reissue by culling other songs from O'Day's repertoire which were heavily associated with famous jazzmen but feature Anita's sometimes very different interpretations. Born Anita Belle Colton, she took the name O'Day because it's pig latin for "dough" aka money. She is usually grouped with the "West Coast Cool" school of Jazz along with singers like Mel Torme. She called Martha Raye her main influence for her vocal style as well as singers like Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday; O'Day herself was a major influence on late swing and early bebop vocalists such as June Christy, Chris Connor and Doris Day. A childhood tonsilectomy apparently accidentally excised her uvula which the singer claimed made her incapable of vibrato or long-sustained notes; this forced her to develop a more percussive vocal style of short notes and driving rhythm probably also influenced by her jazz drum training.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

BETWEEN THE BREAKS . . . LIVE! - Stan Rogers

YEAR: 1979

LABEL: Fogarty's Cove Music

TRACK LISTING: The Witch of the Westmoreland, Barrett's Privateers, First Christmas, The Mary Ellen Carter, The White Collar Holler, The Flowers of Bermuda, Rolling Down to Old Maui, Harris and the Mare, Delivery Delayed

IMPRESSIONS: The first time I ever heard Stan Rogers was on Gene Shay's public radio folk show back in the mid-1980s -- and the songs I first heard were from this live album. Just by dumb luck I happened to tune in to the show on the anniversary of Stan Rogers' tragic death a couple years before and Gene Shay played the entire album in tribute. Stan's rich, rafter-shaking baritone and his superb way of singing a lyric immediately captured my attention and when I first heard "FIRST CHRISTMAS" I was floored -- that song is my nominee for the saddest song ever written! Stan was always good on his recordings but this live album really captures his command of the stage and rapport with an audience which brings an extra electricity to these songs. One of my favourite live albums ever.MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Witch of the Westmoreland, Barrett's Privateers, First Christmas, The Mary Ellen Carter, Rolling Down to Old Maui, Delivery Delayed

IMPRESSIONS: Ben Folds was the sad sack of the Penguin Awards for a long while. This album is really magnificent and should've won the Penguin Award for album of the year but the competition was so incredibly fierce that year that there was no joy. The same thing happened later when Folds' song "Late" should've won for song of the year and didn't again. Folds was probably known as the artist whose had the strongest material NOT win a Penguin Award for several years. Thankfully for him he finally won a Penguin Award for cover song of the year with "Bitches Ain't Shit" but the fact remains that I still want to award him some sort of honorary Penguin Award for the album ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS because it's 100 times stronger than any of the Penguin Award winners for album of the year lately. Sometimes there's no justice! This album was first recommended to me by my Borders co-worker Tuba Dave and, not having ever listened to Ben Folds Five I was dubious; however I soon fell in love with the incredible melodies.

FACT SHEET: ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS is Ben Folds' first album after several with his band Ben Folds Five. The album had the misfortune to be released on September 11, 2001 but still became Folds' most successful album to date. "Not the Same" is based on a true story of a friend who climbed a tree at a party while on LSD, stayed there all night and came down a born-again Christian. ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS was nominated for the Penguin Award for album of the year and song of the year for "Carrying Cathy".

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

ASTRONAUTS & HERETICS - Thomas Dolby

YEAR: 1992

LABEL: Giant

TRACK LISTING: I Love You Goodbye, Cruel, Silk Pyjamas, I Live In A Suitcase, Eastern Bloc (Sequel to Europa and the Pirate Twins), Close But No Cigar, That's Why People Fall In Love, Neon Sisters, Beauty of a Dream

IMPRESSIONS: We had Thomas Dolby's first album since it came out so I was something of a casual fan. "Europa & the Pirate Twins" was our dog Pandy's theme song; she knew all the words and would sing it every time it was played. Long story. However, ASTRONAUTS & HERETICS was reviewed on public radio when it came out featuring an interview with Thomas Dolby. Music clips played from the album were great and the album was getting very good reviews so I immediately went out and bought it at Strawberries. As I brought it to the checkout, the cashier exclaimed "Wow! Thomas Dolby! Whatever happened to him?" So I told him about the great reviews and how great the album sounded and he decided to buy a copy himself. I accept cheques or money orders, Thomas Dolby.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: I Love You Goodbye, Silk Pyjamas, I Live In A Suitcase, Eastern Bloc, Close But No Cigar, That's Why People Fall In Love, Beauty of a Dream

FACT SHEET: ASTRONAUTS & HERETICS is Thomas Dolby's fourth album. Dolby made a move further away from his electronic sound of the 80's by composing on the piano as well as collaborating with other musicians for a more contemporary sound. Several songs have a strong cajun influence owing to some life experiences during Dolby's time in Louisiana. Rhythm Tribe's Thomas Guzman-Sanchez provides rhythm guitar on "That's Why People Fall In Love" for a Guarancha "Acid Latin" flavour. Terry Jackson played bass on several tracks before his death (along with seven other members of Reba McIntyre's support band) in a plane accident; Leland Sklar took over on bass guitar for the rest of the album. ASTRONAUTS & HERETICS was nominated for 1992 Penguin Awards for Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Beauty of a Dream" AND "I Love You Goodbye").

Monday, November 7, 2011

A WINTER ROMANCE - Dean Martin

YEAR: 1959

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: A Winter Romance, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, The Things We Did Last Summer, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, June In January, Canadian Sunset, Winter Wonderland, Out In the Cold Again, Baby It's Cold Outside, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas, It Won't Cool Off

IMPRESSIONS: I just love that cover; Dean Martin personified! Like I say down there, this isn't truly a Christmas album but an album featuring songs with a winter theme. The title track is actually one of my favourite Dean Martin songs of all-time and it was written by Sammy Cahn & Ken Lane specifically for this album. As far as the Christmas songs go, Dino offers seminal versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (or "Rudy" as he calls him), "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and even "White Christmas". Sadly, the tempo for "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is too rushed; even if the concept of replacing a single dueting partner with an entire chorus of women IS a riot!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: A Winter Romance, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, The Things We Did Last Summer, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, June In January, Canadian Sunset, Out In the Cold Again, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas,

FACT SHEET: A WINTER ROMANCE is Dean Martin's sixth long-playing album and his first "Christmas album"; although itunes quite rightly points out that it's more a "seasonal" album of winter songs than a Christmas album. The orchestra is conducted by Gus Levene.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

CONTROL - Janet Jackson

YEAR: 1986

LABEL: A&M

TRACK LISTING: Control, Nasty, What Have You Done For Me Lately?, You Can Be Mine, The Pleasure Principle, When I Think of You, He Doesn't Know I'm Alive, Let's Wait Awhile, Funny How Time Flies (When We're Having Fun)

IMPRESSIONS: This is one of those albums which fall into that weird netherworld between the Rustler years and the Sizzler years. Released in February 1986, I don't remember us getting into it until after Rustler closed in May 1986. However, it was soon to become a major road trip album; one which we would listen to in its entirety. Not as common as you might think. Mix tapes were the norm about 75% of the time; however there were certain albums which we'd pop in and listen to completely: 2:00 AM PARADISE CAFE, ELTON JOHN LIVE IN AUSTRALIA and CONTROL were among them. I will forever associate the CONTROL album with road trips that took in the "Cunningham" run -- otherwise known as "Gwen" -- the tree-mobbed residential area of one-lane winding roads which featured an actual cliff (OK, more like a drop) as well as a house which had an actual British red telephone box on the lawn. I drove by Cunningham Avenue the other day and had to restrain myself from turning into it for the first time in years. Maybe soon I'll go back with CONTROL in my car stereo. . .

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Control, Nasty, What Have You Done For Me Lately?, You Can Be Mine, The Pleasure Principle, When I Think of You, Let's Wait Awhile, Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)

FACT SHEET: CONTROL is Janet Jackson's third album -- not, as everyone misremembers, her first. This is, however, her first album out from under the thumb of her "controlling" father after she fired him as her manager and took on producer/songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The album marked Janet's transition from Jackson baby-sister and teenybopper pop to contemporary R&B. The album marked her emergence from the family shadow to become a legitimate star on her own and CONTROL is listed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers as one of the 200 Definitive Albums of All Time, has been certified fivefold platinum and sold over fourteen million copies worldwide.

IMPRESSIONS: For a Pythonoholic like myself, nothing could excite me more than discovering something by one of the Pythons I never knew existed. This is the reaction I got when I stumbled across this album in the comedy bin at that oh so seventies record store Sound Odyssey in the Cherry Hill Mall. You know, the one with the purple shag carpets covering the floors AND the walls! This was circa 1977 and I never even knew the RWTV show existed -- and sadly the show has STILL never aired in this country or been available in any form other than this album. Which makes it all the more precious. Eric Idle was the most musical Python and Neil Innes was a former member of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band so RWTV was extremely music-filled; however there were also a good many sketches a la Python as well.

FACT SHEET: THE RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION SONGBOOK is an album based on the TV series "RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION" created by Eric Idle (after the end of "MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS") and sometimes-Python guest Neil Innes. RWTV was the first appearance of the Beatles parody THE RUTLES which would go on to become a full-length motion picture.

Friday, November 4, 2011

TRACK LISTING: Stand Up and Shout, Holy Diver, Gypsy, Caught in the Middle, Don't Talk To Strangers, Straight Through the Heart, Invisible, Rainbow in the Dark, Shame On the Night

IMPRESSIONS: Probably Dio's finest hour on vinyl.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Holy Diver, Gypsy, Caught in the Middle, Don't Talk to Strangers, Straight Through the Heart, Rainbow in the Dark, Shame On the Night

FACT SHEET: HOLY DIVER is Dio's first album. Dio was Ronnie James Dio (vocals & keyboards), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Jmmy Bain (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums). The cover art is by Randy Barrett and features the band's mascot "Murray" killing a priest or, as Ronnie James Dio suggested, a priest killing a devil. I'm all about not judging a book by its cover but I don't know if I buy that one.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

SPACE STORIES AND SOUNDS - Bill Stern

YEAR: circa 1950's/1967 (reissue)

LABEL: Lion

TRACK LISTING: The First Men In the Moon, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth

IMPRESSIONS: Each of these 4 stories is only approximately 8 minutes long so they are definitely abridged versions! Bill Stern's ringing, dramatic voice is the perfect conduit for these comic book stories adapted to audio adventures. This must've been a pretty cool children's record back in the day as it is meant for older kids. Bill Stern's narration (and the heavy use of organ music accompanying him) strongly evoke old-time radio shows.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em.

FACT SHEET: SPACE STORIES AND SOUNDS is most certainly from the 1950s and features 4 science fiction stories adapted from H.G. Wells as featured in "Classics Illustrated" magazine. The stories are narrated by Bill Stern who was a nationally-known sportscaster with his own radio show in the golden age of radio. Stern announced the first ever remote sports broadcast on radio and the first televised Major League Baseball game. The music on this album is by Bill Simon.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

RED HOT + BLUE - Various Artists

YEAR: 1990

LABEL: Chrysalis

TRACK LISTING: I've Got You Under My Skin - Neneh Cherry, In the Still of the Night - The Neville Brothers, You Do Something To Me - Sinead O'Connor, Begin the Beguine - Salif Keita, Love For Sale - Fine Young Cannibals, Well Did You Evah! - Deborah Harry & Iggy Pop, Miss Otis Regrets/Just One of Those Things - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne, It's All Right With Me - Tom Waits, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye - Annie Lennox, Night and Day - U2, I Love Paris - Les Negresses Vertes, So In Love - k.d. lang, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? - Thompson Twins, Too Darn Hot - Erasure, I Get A Kick Out of You - The Jungle Brothers, Down In the Depths - Lisa Stansfield, From This Moment On - Jimmy Somerville, After You Who? - Jody Watley, Do I Love You? - Aztec Camera

IMPRESSIONS: This is one of the first compact discs of new material (that is, not replacing a vinyl or cassette copy) I ever bought after getting a cd player for Christmas of 1990. I bought it at the Sam Goody in the Cherry Hill Mall and first played it in the cd player in the back room of Ritz Camera where my friend Paul worked at the time. Up until this time, k.d. lang was known solely as a country artist and I'm absolutely convinced it was her spectacular performance on "So In Love" which led her to take the plunge and drop country in favour of a mainstream career -- that and the fact her country band was called "the reclines" (after Patsy Cline) and she had already cut an album of Patsy songs with Cline's producer Owen Bradley.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: In the Still of the Night - The Neville Brothers, Well Did You Evah! - Deborah Harry & Iggy Pop, Miss Otis Regrets/Just One of Those Things - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne, So In Love - k.d. lang, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? - Thompson Twins, Too Darn Hot - Erasure, From This Moment On - Jimmy Somerville, After You Who? - Jody Watley

FACT SHEET: RED HOT + BLUE is the first AIDS benefit album in a series put out by the Red Hot Organization. All the songs are written by Cole Porter and performed by contemporary artists. The title of the album is from the Cole Porter musical of the same name. The album was produced by Steve Lillywhite and Afrika Bambaataa.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

CLOSE TO YOU - The Carpenters

YEAR: 1970

LABEL: A&M

TRACK LISTING: We've Only Just Begun, Love Is Surrender, Maybe It's You, Reason To Believe, Help!, (They Long To Be) Close To You, Baby It's You, I'll Never Fall In Love Again, Crescent Noon, Mr. Guder, I Kept On Loving You, Another Song

IMPRESSIONS: This is an album that was floating around in my mother's record collection since I was knee-high to a participle and I can remember playing it at a very early age. In the 1990s, the Carpenters came back into vogue and respectability after many years asa punchline; the absolutely sublime voice of Karen and the magnificent production skills of Richard were touted by many contemporary artists and a tribute cd ("If I Were A Carpenter") was released featuring cover versions of Carpenters songs by "alternative" artists such as Matthew Sweet, Shonen Knife and the Cranberries. Just look at that cover photo! What freshly-scrubbed faces and that long, loooooong ankle-length 1970 dress newly in vogue. For some reason, I've always imagined that this album made frequent appearances on Mary Richards' turntable in 1970 Minneapolis!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: We've Only Just Begun, Maybe It's You, Reason To Believe, Help!, (They Long To Be) Close To You, I'll Never Fall In Love Again, Crescent Noon, Mr. Guder, I Kept On Loving You

FACT SHEET: CLOSE TO YOU is the Carpenters' second album; it was rushed out after the blockbuster title song and "We've Only Just Begun" became a smash hits. Despite that fact, it's a really solid album which Rolling Stone magazine rated #175 on the list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Paul Williams and Roger Nichols wrote both "We've Only Just Begun" and "I Kept On Loving You". "We've Only Just Begun", which Richard Carpenter regards as the duo's signature song, was first seen by Richard on a Crocker Citizens Bank TV commercial. "Reason To Believe" is the much-covered (but not at this time) Tim Hardin song. "Help!" of course, is a Beatles cover. "(They Long To Be) Close To You" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" were written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David while "Baby, It's You" was written by Burt Bacharach, Mack David and Barney Williams. "Maybe It's You", "Crescent Noon", "Mr. Guder" and "Another Song" were written by John Bettis and Richard Carpenter. "Maybe It's You" was written for Carpenter & Bettis' former group Spectrum. "Mr. Guder" is a song about the songwriters' former boss at Disneyland who fired them for playing contemporary music requests when they were supposed to play old-time piano and banjo music. "Crescent Noon" is a song about the gloom and bleakness of autumn and winter. In an unusual move, Richard Carpenter sings lead vocal on "I Kept On Loving You".

Album Cover Slideshow

MISSION STATEMENT

Here in the Dark Forest we will reach under a pile of leaves (almost) every day and pull out a favourite album to listen to. These will not be reviews per se but will feature facts, track lists and personal impressions on much-loved albums.

I strongly hope that you will leave comments relating your personal impressions and experiences related to the albums featured here. The only thing better than talking about music is listening to the music itself and I'd love to hear how this music affects you as well. So please let's hear from you.

ONE SMALL NOTE ON THE TERM "ALBUM"

This is, in fact, the correct term. An "album" does not mean a vinyl record; that term would be "record" or "LP". The term "album" means "an album of songs" in the same way as a "photo album" is "an album of photos". The definition of the word "album" means a collection of songs regardless of the medium on which it is presented. An album can be on vinyl, tape, compact disc or computer file but still remains an "album". Originally the term "album" came from the days of 78 rpm records: several records would be packaged together inside a book-shaped "album" with individual sleeves where you would slide out each record to play. With the advent of 33 1/3 rpm records (the first ever LP being Frank Sinatra's IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) all the songs from the 78 rpm package were grouped together on one 33 1/3rd rpm LP which continued to use the word "album" even after this first change in format. That is why this blog will use that term.